1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of automatic telephone call distributors and, more particularly, to automatic call distributors having data display terminals for receipt of data text messages at the call distributor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automatic call distributors employing a multiport switch controlled by a central processing unit in conjunction with a switch operations memory for selectively interconnecting telephonic calls received from external telephones of an external telephonic network with agent telephonic units coupled with the multiport switch are well known. Examples of such call distributors are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,903 of Jones et al. entitled "Multichannel Telephonic Switching Network With Different Signaling Formats and Cross Connect/PBX Treatment Selectable For Each Channel" issued Dec. 7, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,611 of Jones et al. entitled "Pulse Width Modulated Self-Clocking and Self-Synchronizing Data Transmission and Method for a Telephonic Communication Network Switching System" issued Aug. 18, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,004 of Lenihan et al. entitled "Tone and Announcement Message Code Generator for a Telephonic Switching System and Method" issued Jun. 30, 1992 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,047 of Pitroda et al. entitled "Integrated Voice and Data Telecommunication Switching System", issued Dec. 2, 1986.
Agents stationed at the agent telephonic sets service the calls from various callers, such as customers, at the external telephones. In order to monitor the progress and efficiency of the many agents servicing calls received at the call distributor, it is known to provide a plurality of data display terminals at supervisory stations within the automatic call distribution system. The supervisors observe the display terminals to monitor the constantly changing events within the call distributor. The data display terminals often alert the supervisors of many situations including: emergency situation calls, requests for assistance by the agents, call progression, the transferring of calls, the time a customer call is placed on hold or waiting in queue to be serviced and the overall call handling efficiency of agent groups within the system. It is very important that the supervisors continually monitor the changing events on their associated display terminal in order to provide the necessary assistance when needed and to improve the overall call servicing efficiency within the call distribution system.
It is also known in such call distributors to send data text messages between supervisors stationed at data display terminals of a call distributor. In known call distributors a supervisor must go through a series of commands to send a text message to another supervisor at another data display terminal. Unfortunately, the text messages sent and received are only temporarily stored at the volatile memory of the individual cathode ray tube (CRT) terminals or data display terminals. Disadvantageously, a supervisor is unable to permanently store a received data text message, since a message is erased from the display terminal volatile storage when the display screen is changed.
Furthermore, in known call distributors a sent text message spontaneously appears at the screen of the receiving supervisor's data display terminal and blanks out or removes all the information previously displayed on the screen when the message appears. The destination or receiving display terminal is cleared of all data appearing on the screen and the written data text message immediately shown at the terminal. Therefore, upon receipt of a data text message the receiving supervisor is unable to continue to monitor the changing events within the call distributor. Since the data display terminal screen has all the previous working information eliminated when a message appears, the supervisor receiving the message is temporarily stopped from performing his assigned duties of monitoring the operation of the call distributor. The supervisor cannot be alerted to emergency situations, requests for assistance or determine the progress of calls in the call distribution system since this information is blanked out from the display screen.
Thus, in known call distributors, the receiving supervisor does not have any flexibility with respect to whether an incoming data text message is displayed or stored--he or she is at the mercy of the system. Reducing efficiency, once the text message has been received and reviewed, the receiving supervisor must enter a series of complicated and time consuming commands at the display terminal in order to return to a working display showing status and call information relating to the operation of the call distributor.